H.R. 559 (111th): Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act of 2009

Introduced:
Jan 15, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Yvette Clarke [D-NY11]
Status:
Died (Passed House)
See Instead:
This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 1007 (112th) on Mar 10, 2011.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on February 3, 2009 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jan 15, 2009
Referred to Committee Jan 15, 2009
Passed House Feb 03, 2009
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Feb 03, 2009 7:19 p.m.
Passed 413/3

Cosponsors
3 cosponsors (2D, 1R) (show)
Committees

House Homeland Security

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or privilege, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Feb 04, 2009.
13 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

2/3/2009--Passed House without amendment.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced.
The summary of that version is repeated here.) Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act of 2009 or the FAST Redress Act of 2009 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish:
(1) a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they were delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were wrongly identified as a threat when screened against any terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or any component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and
(2) an Office of Appeals and Redress within DHS to implement, coordinate, and execute the process.
Requires the process to include the establishment of a method for maintaining and appropriately disseminating a Comprehensive Cleared List of individuals who:
(1) were misidentified;
(2) completed an appeal and redress request and provided required information to verify their identity; and
(3) permit their personally identifiable information to be shared between DHS components.
Directs the Secretary to:
(1) transmit information necessary to resolve misidentifications, improve administration of the advanced passenger prescreening system, and reduce false positives to TSA or any other appropriate DHS component, other federal, state, local, and tribal entities, and domestic and foreign air carriers that use any terrorist watchlist or database; and
(2) ensure that the List is considered when assessing an individual's security risk.
Terminates the transmission of the List to domestic and foreign air carriers on the date the federal government assumes terrorist watchlist or database screening functions.
Authorizes the Secretary to:
(1) enter into memoranda of understanding with federal, state, local, and tribal entities to improve the appeal and redress process and for other purposes, such as to verify an individual's identity and personally identifiable information; and
(2) work with other entities that use any terrorist watchlist or database to ensure that the List is considered when assessing an individual's security risk.
Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with DHS's Chief Privacy Officer, to:
(1) require that DHS employees complete mandatory privacy and security training before being authorized to handle personally identifiable information;
(2) ensure that the information maintained is secured by encryption;
(3) limit the information collected from misidentified passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount necessary to resolve an appeal and redress request;
(4) ensure that the information maintained is shared or transferred via an encrypted data network that has been audited to ensure that security related software functions perform properly and are updated as necessary;
(5) ensure that any DHS employee receiving the information handles it in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and other specified law;
(6) retain the information for only as long as needed to assist the individual traveler in the appeal and redress process;
(7) engage in cooperative agreements with appropriate federal entities to ensure that legal name changes are properly reflected in any terrorist watchlist or database and the List; and
(8) conduct, publish, and report to specified congressional committees on a privacy impact assessment of the process.
Requires the Office of Appeals and Redress, at each airport at which:
(1) DHS has a presence, to provide written information to air carrier passengers to begin the appeal and redress process; and
(2) DHS has a significant presence, to provide that information and ensure the availability of a TSA supervisor who is trained in such process to provide support to air carrier passengers in need of guidance.
Sets forth reporting requirements on the status of information sharing among users at DHS of any terrorist watchlist or database.
Incorporates the appeals and redress process into the Secure Flight Program.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr559.

Background

This legislation is identical to another bill (H.R. 4179) which passed the House by voice vote on June 18, 2008.  The Senate never acted on that bill.

DHS currently operates the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program ("DHS TRIP").  DHS TRIP is the central point for redress inquiries involving Department watchlists.  Travelers interface with DHS TRIP when they encounter misidentification issues, screening problems, and situations where travelers believe they have been unfairly or incorrectly delayed. 

DHS TRIP places "cleared" individuals on the Transportation Security Administration's cleared list.  However, this list is not currently shared between agencies, or other partners such as air carriers and State and local governments.

 

Summary

H.R. 559 authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish an appeals and redress process for individuals who claim to have been misidentified when screened against any terrorist watchlist or database utilized by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or the Department. The Secretary will also establish an Office of Appeals and Redress to implement and execute this process.

This bill requires the Office of Appeals and Redress to maintain a list of individuals who were misidentified against any terrorist watchlist or database, to be known as the Comprehensive Cleared List. Furthermore, the Secretary is required to transmit this list to the TSA or any other appropriate agency or air carrier that uses a terrorist watchlist or database. The Office of Appeals and Redress must provide written information and guidance to air carrier passengers to begin the appeal and redress process at every airport which has a DHS presence.

H.R. 559 finally directs the Secretary to engage in necessary agreements with appropriate federal agencies to ensure that legal name changes are reflected in the terrorist watchlist and the list of "cleared" travelers.

 

 

Cost

There is no Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score available for this bill. However, last year CBO predicted that similar legislation would cost $3 million in 2009, and about $500,000 annually thereafter, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

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United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)